abu rayhan al biruni manuscripts in uzbekistan

7/25/2019 Abu Rayhan Al Biruni Manuscripts in Uzbekistan

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If the pencil did not leave eternal monuments, where

would we have learned of peoples wisdom?

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni


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UNESCO OFFICE IN TASHKENT

THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

ABU RAYHAN ALBIRUNI INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES

ASHKENT2012

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Published in 2012 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France

UNESCO Office in Tashkent

9, Ergashev Street, 100170 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

UNESCO 2012

All rights reserved

ISBN 978-9943-11-139-4

ISBN 978-92-3-001065-2

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatso-

ever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation

of its frontiers or boundaries.

The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not com-

mit the Organization.

The anthology produced by the experts of the Inst itute of Oriental Studies (IOS) of the Academy of Sciences and foreign experts, Marco Di

Bella (Italy) and Antonio Mirabile (Italy), contains materials that provide a description of the manuscript collection at the IOS of the Academy

of Sciences representing more than 26,000 manuscripts and 39,000 lithographs in Arabic script. It highlights the history of the Institutes man-

uscript collection and provides an analysis of the subject matter. The work also covers the art of book writing and the activities of representa-

tives from various schools of calligraphy and ornamental art such as miniature illustrations on the collections manuscripts and specific features

of their bindings. Furthermore, it investigates the development of paper production and describes the different paper types used in the manu-

scripts. This anthology contains a proposal for the conservation and examination of the condition of the manuscript collection of the Institute.

This book is for experts and broad readership.

This publication was produced thanks to generous contribution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Edited by:

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies81, Mirzo Ulugbek Street

100170, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Executive Editors: Bakhrom Abdukhalimov, Jorge Ivan Espinal

Editorial Board: D. Yusupova, S. Karimova, G. Karimov, S. Allayarov.

Cover photo: Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies

Graphic design: Kahramon Abidjanov

Cover design: Kahramon Abidjanov

Illustrations: Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies

Typeset: Mega BasimPrinted by: Mega Basim

Printed in Turkey


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FOREWORDB. Abdukhalimov, J. I. Espinal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. THEHISTORY OFTHECOLLECTIONB. Abdukhalimov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2. SUBJECT MATTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

2.1. HistoryD. Yusupova. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

2.2. Natural and Exact SciencesS. Karimova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2.3. LiteratureSh. Musayev, G. Karimov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

2.4. Islam and PhilosophyB. Babadjanov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

2.5. Historical DocumentsS. Gulyamov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

3. SCRIPTS, ORNAMENTATION, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

3.1. Calligraphic StylesSh. Ziyodov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

3.2. Miniature and Artistic PaintingSh. Musayev, G. Karimov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

4. BINDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

4.1. Islamic BookbindingM. Di Bella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

4.2. PaperM. Salimov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

5. CONSERVATION PROJECTA. Mirabile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

5.1. Preservation of paper-based documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

5.2. Preservation of the manuscripts collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150


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The manuscript collection of the Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies

(IOS) of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the rich-

est and most renowned manuscript repositories of the world not only because

of the number of books and documents collected here, but also because of the di-

versity of their subject matter, language, time periods, and distinctive book design.

In 2000, the Institutes manuscript collection was added to the Memory of the

World Register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO).To date, the collection of the IOS of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences holds more

than 26,000 manuscripts and 39,000 lithographs in Arabic scripts replenished from

year to year. Such a compilation undoubtedly requires proper care and optimal stor-

age conditions. The existing conditions at the Institute building constructed in 1967

regrettably fail to meet modern requirements for the storage of ancient books.

The laboratory that deals with handling and restoring damaged book copies is lack-

ing necessary up-to-date equipment and sufficient experts on staff.

The Institute petitioned UNESCO for assistance in searching for foreign donor or-

ganizations willing to assist in the preservation of handwritten treasures with the goal

of improving conditions for the manuscript collection as a whole, and the restora-

tion laboratory in particular.

In 2009, the IOS of the Academy of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan received

a positive response to its appeal. A grant was allocated to the Institute from the gov-

ernment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with assistance from UNESCO.

According to this project, UNESCO arranged a detailed examination of the techni-cal state, storage and restoration conditions of the IOS manuscript collection in 2010

by an internationally renowned expert, Antonio Mirabile, whose opinion and recom-

mendations were used to acquire technical equipment and reagents for the restora-

tion laboratory of the Institute.

In 2011, relevant floors and areas within the Institutes building designed to store

books and provide services to readers underwent renovation. At the same time, three

staffmembers of the laboratory received a 40-day special internship at the King

Faisal Center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fifteen-day training sessions for re-storers from the IOS and other organizations dealing with librarianship were also


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organized. The training was led by Marco Di Bella, a high-

ly-qualified expert.

The al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies of the Aca-

demy of Sciences would like to express sincere gratitude

to the UNESCO Office in Tashkent represented by Mr. Jorge

Ivan Espinal; the staffof the office, Mr. Sanjarbek Allayarov

and Ms. Karina Nasibyants for their support and ongo-

ing practical assistance in implementing the project;and to Mr. Antonio Mirabile, for his objective expert exam-

ination of the collection and qualified assistance to the lab-

oratory technicians at the Institute of Oriental Studies

of the Academy of Sciences.

The Institute also extends deep appreciation to the gov-

ernment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the finan-

cial assistance rendered to the manuscripts collection of

the IOS of the Academy of Sciences.

This book is also par t of the UNESCO project. It was

published to introduce the manuscript collection of the

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences

as comprehensively and as broadly as possible. In this re-gard, foreign experts and connoisseurs such as Mr. Marco

Di Bella and Mr. Antonio Mirabile from Italy contributed

to this book, along with specialists from the IOS of the

Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

FOREWORD

Bakhrom Abdukhalimov,

Director oftheInstitute ofOriental Studies

oftheUzbek Academy ofSciences Doctor

ofHistorical Sciences

Jorge Ivan Espinal,

Head of UNESCO Office in Tashkent


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B.Abdukhalimov

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The Abu Rayhan al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences

of the Republic of Uzbekistan was founded in 1943 as the Oriental Department of

the Uzbek State Public Library now called the Alisher Nawai National Library. It func-

tioned as an institute for studying oriental manuscripts until 1950 when it was trans-

formed into the Institute of Oriental Studies to accommodate the expansion of new

areas and research subjects relating to the exploration of original sources of histo-

ry and the history of science and culture of the Central Asian region. In 1957, the

Institute was honored to bear the name of the great medieval scholar and thinkerAbu Rayhan al-Biruni (9731050).

Today, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences has won

wide recognition in international Oriental Studies owing to the introduction of

unstudied and poorly explored original sources preserved in its collection. The

Institute has six collections of handwritten treasures. Each of them will be de-

scribed below.

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The Main Col lect ion is comprised of 13,319 volum es of manuscripts from the

private collections of public officials and figures and other people. The pub-

lic library received these private collections either through purchase or as gifts

presented to the Institute. The latter include the private libraries of Khojagan-

Naqshbandiyya, son of Bukhara ruler Amir Muzaffar (18601885), and a prominent

representative and theoretician of Sufi brotherhood; Muhammad Siddiq Hishmat,hereditary supreme judge of the Bukhara Emirate and littrateur; Muhammad

Ali Dukchi Ishan (18561898), the leader of the 1898 Andijan uprising against the

rule of the Russian Empire; Bekjan Rahmanov, (c. 18871929), Khorezm dignitary

and educator; Abd al-Rauf Fitrat (18861937), Khorezmi educator, famous writ-

er and reformist; V. L. Vyatkin (18691932), Russian orientalist; and part of the li-

brary from the Khiva khans.

Later, the Institutes Main Collection was further replenished through discover-

ies, the purchase of manuscripts from individuals, special archeological expeditions,and additional gifts from private individuals.


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1. THE HISTORY OF THE COLLECTION

to folios such as The Shah-nama by Ferdawsi (d. 1020), and

Khamsa poems by a number of famous poets, especially

the poem Yusuf wa Zulayha. Some other works on medi-

cine, cosmography and others subjects were decorated with

illustrations. Since there are a varying number of miniature

paintings in the manuscriptsfrom single ones to sever-

al dozenthe makers must have proceeded from the na-

ture of the work , from their artistic taste or requirementsof the patron of the manuscript, and many other conditions.

For example, only the Shah-nama by Ferdawsi and tran-

scribed in Khiva in the 16thcentury was decorated with

115 miniature paintings (Inventory No. 1811).

Thus, the total quantity of manuscripts in the Institute

exceeds 26,000 volumes of different formats. Each volume

may contain anything from a several tens of works. In par-

ticular, manuscript No. 2385 contains more than 100 works.

Based on the calculation that each volume has an average

of three treatises, it may be assumed that there are three

times more treatises than volumes.

The manuscripts collection of the Institute of Oriental

Studies of the Academy of Sciences is one of the rich-

est in the world in terms of both quantity and quali-

ty of depositories of written treasures. It stores valuableand at times unique manuscripts that provide crucial infor-

mation about the time in which they were created. This ap-

plies in particular to a unique copy Matla al-nujum wa ma-

jma al-ulum, by renowned theologian, historian and phi-

lologist Abu Hafs Umar al-Nasafi (10681142) and tran-

scribed in 13641365 (Inventory No. 1462). The collection

also includes Majmua-yi murasalat (Inventory No. 2178),

a compilation of 594 original 15th-century letters to AlisherNawai (14411501) from famous persons of the era such

as Abd al-Rahman Jami (14141492), Khoja Ubayd Allah

Ahrar (1404-1490) and others.

The Institutes collection contains a significant number

of old or rare manuscripts. These include one of the earli-

est manuscripts, the third volume of the work Tajarib al-

umam (Experience of the Peoples) (Inventory No. 595),

and dated to 1199) by Ibn Miskawaykh (c. 9321030); the

manuscript Kalila wa Dimna (Inventory No. 3629) tran-scribed in 1305 in Baghdad; a copy of the Koran suppos-

edly from the 13thcentury (Inventory No. 2008), where

the Arabic text is written along with a continuous in-

terlinear translation into Persian and Turkic languages;

Kutadghu bilik by Yusuf Khass Hajib (Inventory No. 6093)

and Qalandar-nama by Baha al-Din al-Rumi (Inventory

No. 11668), rare folios from the 14thcentury; and many oth-

ers. Copies and autographs created during the lifetimes

of the authors, mostly famous historical people, provoke

the most interest. Closer to our time the number of auto-

graphs steadily grows, which is quite logical.

The design of the manuscripts should also be noted.

Luxurious frontispieces and richly decorated bindings from

silver and colored enamel are found in some manuscripts.

Exquisite calligraphy by famous calligraphers is used, suchas that from Sultan Ali Mashhadi and Sultan Husayn Mirza

(14691506) in the Koran leaf from the 19thcentury (inven-

tory No. 2169).

Artistic and other distinctions testify of the exclusive

scientific, cultural and spiritual significance of the manu-

scripts in the Institutes collection. For example, the Main

Collection alone contains 315 manuscripts that are distin-

guished as having special value due to their age, rarityand ingenious design.


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Initially, the Institute had only one department for the

research of Oriental manuscripts. Later, as new areas came

into being, departments for primary scientific processing

and systematization, scientific description and cataloguing,

research and publication of written sources and docu-

ments, as well as departments for studying the political,

economic, and cultural life in the countries of the Near

and Middle East and their relation to Central Asia, wereestablished.

The research activi ty of the Institute mainly focuses

on its manuscript collection. In terms of its scientific val-

ue, the collection of Oriental manuscripts at the Institute

is the richest and most unique in the world. The most

ancient works stored at the collection are more than

one thousand years old; including the Quran from the 9 th

century transcribed using Kufiscript. The most recent man-

uscripts date to the mid-20thcentury. The works are written

in Uzbek, Arabic, Persian, Tajik, Urdu, Pashtu, Azerbaijani,

Turkish, Tatar, Turkmen, Uyghur, and many other languag-

es of the Oriental peoples. They cover various branches

of medieval sciences (history, literature, philosophy, law, as-

tronomy, physics, chemistry, medicine, pharmacology, lin-

guistics, geography, music, mathematics, mineralogy, agri-culture, fine arts, theology and others) and represent a val-

uable source in studying history and the history of the in-

tellectual and material culture of Central Asia and foreign

countries in the East.

Since 1952, the Institute has been publishing a book ca-

talogue titled Sobraniye vostochnikh rukopisey Instituta

vostokovedeniya Akademii nauk Respubliki Uzbekistan

(A Collection of Oriental Manuscripts of the Academyof Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan), the only

source of information over several decades for Orientalists

of the world about the composition of the Institutes

Main Collection. The Institute has published 11 volumes

of this catalogue to date, providing a scientific description

of 7,574 manuscripts. Furthermore, a number of thematic

catalogues have been developed, including history, natu-

ral sciences, medicine and sufism. In addition, in 2001, 2003

and 2004 a three-volume catalogue of miniature paintingswas published with financial support from UNESCO. At the

same time, catalogues containing descriptions of such

prominent representatives of science and culture such as

Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi (d. 950), Abu Ali ibn Sina

(9801037), Amir Khusraw Dihlawi (12531325), Nur al-Din

Abd al-Rahman Jami (14141492), and Mir Nizam al-Din

Alisher Nawai were published. Several catalogues in Arabic

and Persian were published in Iran and the United Arab

Emirates in cooperation with scholars from those countries.

A five-year project launched in 2008 is underway with

support from the Gerda Henkel Foundation to establish

an electronic catalogue of the entire Main Collection

of the Institute. It involves 13 employees from the Institute

of Oriental Studies of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences.

The electronic catalogue of the Main Collection is beingcreated using the custom-designed software AKAT-A

and will be posted on the Institutes website. The project

also entails scanning manuscripts from the above-men-

tioned collection beginning with those that are unique

and rare. The cataloguing of the Khamid Sulaymanov col-

lection is also ongoing. Two volumes of catalogues from

these manuscripts will be published.

Since receiving a government grant in 2009 for cata-loguing the Doublet Collection, there has been ongoing

INV. # 1620, DZAMI ATTAVORIH. PAGE 49B!


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cataloguing as well as research and publication of histori-

cal documents in this collection.

In 2001, a joint Uzbek-Japanese scientific research pro-

ject resulted in publishing the first of the document cata-

logues titled Katalog khivinskikh kaziyskikh dokumentov

(Catalogue of Khiva Qadi Documents). The catalogue pro-

vides the description of 1,713 documents. The Catalogue

of Central Asian Patents of Nobility published in Germanyincludes the scientific description of 122 documents in-

cluding patents on privileges, land grants and patents

on appointments issued by Central Asian rulers includ-

ing facsimiles of all patents. The catalogue was the re-

sult of cooperation between scientists from the Institue

of Oriental Studies of Martin Luther University in Halle-

Wittenberg, Germany, and the Abu Rayhan al-Biruni

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences

of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The area of researching the Institutes manuscript col-

lection of similar importance includes an introduction

into the scientific activities of unstudied and poorly stud-

ied handwritten sources such as facsimiles, analytical cri-

tiques and translation into different languages. It is impor-

tant to mainstream activities in this area, since a majority

of unique works in the collection require vigorous research

and subsequent publication.

The Institutes unique collection created by a number

of Oriental peoples provides valuable material for ac-

ademic research. In this regard, the Institutes staff

and the broader public face the challenge of preserving

the treasures for coming generations. In turn, this requires

constant control over the state of the manuscripts, time-ly handling, restoration, and conservation, and improve-

ment of storage conditions. In this regard, the Institute

has made significant progress owing to earmarked alloca-

tions from the government of Uzbekistan and grants from

a number of international funds. The efforts of UNESCO,

various foundations from Germany, Oman, Saudi Arabia,

and the United Arab Emirates aimed at expanding

and enhancing the performance of the Institutes lab-

oratory and training skilled experts in the conservation

and restoration of manuscripts, is highly appreciated.

In 2010, Saudi Arabia with assistance from UNESCO allo-

cated funds for these purposes.

In 1997, the Institutes manuscript collection was in-

scribed to the Memory of the World Register as one of the

richest manuscript depositories in the world.

"INV. #4472, ZAFARNAMA. PAGE 167B


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The rich collec tion of Oriental manuscripts at the Institute of Oriental Studies

of the Academy of Sciences contains a large number of historical works. It is diffi-

cult to state their exact number, because in addition to works of purely historical

content, there are other kinds of works relating to literature, religion, natural and ex-

act sciences, medicine, and others. The information they hold on specific topics of-

ten resonates with historical data, and, therefore, is very important. Moreover, only

Davlatshah Samarqandi, the biographer of poets, in his works Tazkirat al-shuara

(Biography of Poets) (Inventory No. 53 and so on) mentions an anonymous man-uscript, Tarikh-i Sarbadaran (The History of Sarbadars), as the primary source

that highlights the Sarbadar movement against the Mongol invaders. Compiled

at the turn of the 14thto 15thcenturies, by the end of the 15thcentury this work

was considered lost.

Nevertheless, the Institutes manuscript collection currently holds more than

1,000 manuscript works with specific historical content in Persian, Tajik, Arabic,

and Turkic languages representing narrative and other types of sources. These also

include works on historical geography and topography, the history and topogra-

phy of cities, records management (certificates, documents, correspondence) which

to a certain extent touch upon social, economic, and public administration issues

within a specific time period, as well as memoirs and travel literature.

Chronologically, the works date to the middle of the 10thto 11thcenturies, while

their folios date to from the 12thto the 20thcenturies. Regionally, the works of histor-

ical content cover universal history, the history of Central Asia, Iran, India, the Middle

East, Turkey, Afghanistan, Eastern Turkestan, European countries, Japan, and other na-

tions. These include works on historical geography and topography as well as travels.

It should be noted that judging by the content, the regional division of the works

has been done provisionally. Some works are classified as General History, Middle

East and others, but there are also accounts on the history of Turkey, Iran, India, China,

France, and other countries.

The collection contains 257 manuscripts (50 works) on General History. The earli-

est of them is the Persian translation of Tarikh-i Tabari (The History of Tabari) written

by Abu Jafar Muhammad Jarir at-Tabari (839923) in Arabic and highlighting eventsthat occurred in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. The History of Tabari


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2. SUBJECT MATTER

was translated by al-Balami at the direction of Samanid

Abu Salih Mansur ibn Nuh in 964. The work is included in 16

of the collections folios (Inventory Nos. 2060, 2073, 2705,

2816, 4226, 6095, 12593 and others). The earliest of them

was transcribed on Oriental paper in the 14 th century

in Naskhscript and elements of Shikastescript.

The collection also includes Kitab-i Futuh (The Book

on Conquests), an important source for studying the his-tory of many Near and Middle Eastern countries, in-

cluding Central Asia, dating from the 7 th to 9th centu-

ries. The manuscript is a Persian translation of the work

by Ibn Athama Kufi (d. 924) written in Arabic and known

as Futuh-i ibn Atham (Conquests of ibn Atham), Ta-

rikh-i Atham Kufi (The History of Atham Kufi), and others.

The translator was Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mustawfi al-

Hirawi (late 12thto early 13thcenturies). There are two foli-

os of this work. One of them (Inventory No. 27) was tran-

scribed using Naskh script on Oriental paper in 1396.

The other one (Inventor y No. 28) was transcribed using

Nastaliqscript on Oriental paper in 1797.

It is worth mentioning the work Tarikh-i Khafiz-i Abru

(The History of Khafiz-i Abru), also known as Zubdat al-

tawarikh (The Cream of Histories), which was written

in Persian by Nur al-Din Lutf Allah Khafiz-i Abru (d. 1431),

a famous historian from the epoch of Amir Temur (1370

1405) and the Temurids.

Khafiz-i Abru accompanied Amir Temur in his cam-

paigns. In 1414 he wrote his work as an eyewitness. The his-

torical review is devoted to the history of primarily Iran, be-

ginning with the first caliph up until the rule of Shahruh.

The collection has two folios of this work. Other folios dem-onstrate excellent scripts such as Riqaon Oriental paper

from northern India (Inventory No. 4078, possibly an auto-

graph) and Nastaliqof Heratitype on Central Asian paper

(Inventory No. 5361).

The collection holds a very rare work on general history

Jami al-tawarikh (A Collection of Chronicles) by Indian

annalist Ghulam Fakhr al-Din ibn Shaykh Muslih al-Din ibn

Yahya ibn Muhi (16thcentury) (Inventory No. 3368). It con-

tains evidence about rulers of China, Turkestan, Transoxania,Bani Israil, Farang (Europe) and Rum as well as the history

of India until 1592. The manuscript was written in the 18th

century partly by the author himself and partly by a scribe

in Nastaliqand Naskhscripts on Kashmir paper.

The collec tion has a number of Uzbek translations

of works written in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and other

languages.

The author of the original Ajaib al-athar (Curiosities

of Literary Works), Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan al-Jabar-

ti al-Hanafi (b. 1754, Cairo), composed a general histo-

ry mainly of Egypt during the 18thcentury and the first

quarter of the 19thcentury from previous works and ev-

idence of eyewitnesses. The work was translated into

Uzbek by Muhammad Rafi-akhund and Mulla Muhammad

Makhdum in 1908 at the direction of Khiva khan

Muhammad Rahim (18651910). The manuscript (Inventory

No. 833) is an autograph of translators dated 1908 (fol. 411a)

and 1909 (fol. 719b) written using Nastaliqscript on Russian

factory-manufactured paper. Another leaf of the same

work is an autograph of translators dated 1909 (Inventory

No. 834).

A section titled History of Central Asia in the col-

lection is represented quite widely with 400 manu-scripts (123 works). The earliest of them is Tarikh al-Utbi


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2.1. HISTORY

al-musamma bi-Yamini (The History of Utbi Referred to

as Yamini) also known as Tarikh-i Yamini (The History of

Yamin ad-Davla), al-Yamini (Yamini) as well as al-Kitab

al-Yamini (The History of the Empires Sword-Hand) writ-

ten in Arabic in 1022 by Abu Jafar Abu Nasr Muhammad

ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Utbi (b. 962, Rey [Iran]; d. 1023 or 1036

or 1040). The work contains the history of Ghaznavid

Sultans Sabuktegin and Mahmud until 1021 and is an im-portant source for studying the history of Central Asia,

Iran, Afghanistan and northern India in the last quar-

ter of the 10 thcentury and the first half of the 11thcen-

tury. It was transcribed using Naskhand Thuluth scripts

on Oriental paper around the 13th to 14th centuries

(Inventory No. 3552/V).

The collection has two copies of these works translat-

ed into Persian (Inventory No. 3144/II, 5828).

It is worthwhile noting that the work Jami al-hikam

fi athar al-umam (Repository of Wisdom in the Peoples

Monuments) by Ahmad ibn Ali al-Balkhayi (c. 15thcentu-

ry) and written in Persian (Inventory No. 625) is not found

in other manuscript depositories. This also applies

to the description of Balkh during the authors time

(p. 136a), which is the most intriguing part of the work.

It describes the founding of the city, its fascinating build-

ings, rulers, judges, and others observation. The work

was transcribed in Nastaliqscript on Indian paper in 1613.

A rare work on the history of Central Asia during the 15th

to 16thcenturies, Tarikh-i Abu-l-Khayr-khani (The History

of Abu-l-Khayr-khan), was written in Persian by Masud

Kuhistani (d. before 1590). It is a pragmatic history of the

Orient and Central Asia from creation until the 16th

century(Inventory No. 9989), (Unwan on P. 192b). The manuscript

is rich in illustrations with 34 miniature paintings from

a prominent craftsman of the Central Asian Kamal al-Din

Behzads (14551537) decorating the text. The manuscript

was transcribed on Samarqand paper in the 16 thcentury

using Nastaliqscript which is close to Heratihandwriting.

Zafar-nama (The Book of Victories) was written by

someone referred to as Mukimi and may be classified as

one of the rarest works on Central Asia (Inventory No. 3901).It covers a two-year period (15791581) in Central Asia dur-

ing the reign of Shaybanid Abd Allah-khan II (15571598).

The work was writ ten in Persian in 1581 by an eyewitness.

There is one more leaf of this work stored in Dushanbe

and is rarely shown in the known catalogues of Oriental

manuscripts. It dates from 1935 and was compiled much

later than the abovementioned leaf.

The manuscript collection has a wide array of work s

on Khorezm historiography. Shir-Muhammad, nicknamed

Munis, the son of Amir Avaz-biy mirab (d. 1829) and a well-

known Khorezmian historiographer, wrote the work

Firdaws al-iqbal (Eden of Prosperity) in Uzbek at the di-

rection of Khiva khan Iltuzar Muhammad-Bahadir (1804

1806). The work is a record of Khiva Khanate from the an-

cient times to the enthronement of the Khiva Khan Allah

quli (18251842). The author did not complete his work

before his death and only reached the seventh year

of Muhammad Rahim-khan Is rule (1812) who replaced

the abovementioned Iltuzar-khan on the Khiva throne

in 1806 (Inventory No. 821/I). The manuscript was tran-

scribed in 1880 using Nastaliqscript on Kokand paper.

After the death of Munis, the work was continued by his

nephew Muhammad Riza Agahi ibn Ir-Niyaz-bek, a promi-nent Khorezmian historiographer and littrateur (18091874).


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2. SUBJECT MATTER

The continuation is titled Riyaz al-dawla (The Gardens

of the State) (Inventory No. 821/II) and lists historical events

during the reign of Allah quli-khan. The work was tran-

scribed in 1881 using Nastaliqscript on Kokand paper.

Zubdat al-tawarikh (The Cream of Chronicles) by the

same author is the continuation of previous works on the

history of Khorezm and covers the history of Khorezm

from the period of Rahim quli-khans reign (18421846).The writ ten piece was completed in 1846 (Inventor y

No. 821/III). The manuscript was transcribed at the direc-

tion of Khiva Khan Muhammad Rahim II by Damulla Riza

akhund ibn Muhammad Karim using Diwaniscript in 1881.

He also transcribed Jami al-waqiat-i sultani (Sultans

Collection of Events), the continuation of Zubdat al-

tawarikh which covers the history of Khorezm during

the rule of Muhammad Amin-khan (18461855) and his lifeand deeds prior to his ascent to the Khiva throne

(Inventory No. 9786). The manuscript was transcribed us-

ing Nastaliqscript on Kokand paper in the second half

of the 19thcentury.

The novelty of factual material in the autograph Ayn

al-tawarikh (A Data Source) by Haji Abd al-Azim Shari

(Sami) Bukhari (b. early 1830s; d. 1893) is particularly note-

worthy. Shari was a representative of Bukhara intellectu-

als in the second half of the 19 thcentury and held var-

ious administrative positions in the khanate (rais/man-

ager, and others). He also taught in a madrasa. The work

(Inventory No. 4216, 4217) was written between 1872

and 1895 and contains an account of events from the first

year of the creation of the world until 1648. It includes

sources from a work by Turkish writer Katib Chelebi or HajiKhalifa (d. 1658) titled Taqwim al-tawarikh (Chronological

Tables). The sources for works from 16491894 were col-

lected by Shari himself. In the events occurring during

his lifetime, Shari mentions the military campaigns be-

tween Central Asian khanates during years when other fa-

mous works were written and famous people died, among

other events. The autograph is probably a draft. The foli-

os of this work have not been found in famous catalogues.

A famous historical work by 19th-century Tajik educator,Ahmad ibn Mir Nasir Yusuf al-Hanafi al-Siddiqi al-Bukhari,

also known by his alias Danish (18271897), is also remark-

able. Titled Tarjima-yi ahwal-i amiran-i Bukhara-yi shar-

if (Life History of Emirs of Noble Bukhara) (Inventory

No. 1987), the work was copied in 1933 from the auto-

graph by Ibad Allah Adilov, a connoisseur of Oriental man-

uscripts. It was written in Persian and devoted to the his-

tory of Manghit Dynasty rule in the Khanate of Bukharaas well as the history of Bukhara from Amir Daniyal (1758

1785) to emir Abd al-Ahad-khan (18851910). The leaf

was transcribed in Nastaliqscript on Russian factory-man-

ufactured paper.

The work Shajara-yi Khorazmshohiy (The Genealogic

Tree of Khorezm Shahs) by Muhammad Yusuf under the

pen name Bayani ibn Babajanbek (d. 1923), was writ-

ten in 19111914 at the direction of Khiva Khan Isfandiyar

(19101918). Yusuf was a renowned Khorezmian historiog-

rapher and littrateur of the late 19thto early 20thcentu-

ry (Inventory No. 9596). The work describes the history of

Khorezm until 1914 in chronological order and was tran-

scribed in 1915 using Khivan Nastaliqscript on manufac-

tured paper at the direction of Isfandiyar.

The leaf of Tahqiqat-i ark-i Bukhara wa salatin-i wa uma-ra-yi u (A Research of Bukhara Ark, Sultans and Emirs [of


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2.1. HISTORY

Bukhara]) is unique. Written by Sayyid Nasir ibn Sayyid Amir

Muzaffar in 1922 in Persian (Inventory No. 19), the piece con-

tains valuable information about the history of Bukhara

based on the authors own observations. It was transcribed

in 1922 using Nastaliqscript on Kokand paper.

There is a valuable and unique manuscript-autograph

of extensive memoirs (600 leaves) by representatives

of intellectual circles in Bukhara from the 19 thcentury.Hamid, the son of Qadi Baqa Khoja (b. late 1870s to early

1880s), narrates the history of the Bukhara Khanate from

the middle of the 19thcentury to the early years of Soviet

rule against the background of autobiographical notes

(Inventory No. 602). The manuscript was written in cur-

sive Nastaliqscript on sheets of manufactured paper da-

ting from 1928.

The History of Iran is quantitatively representedin the collection by 41 manuscripts (14 works). The earliest

of them, Tarikh-i Bayhaq (The History of Bayhaq [city]),

is devoted to the historic and biographical description

of the city of Bayhaq as well as biographical data of famous

persons (Inventory No. 1524/I). It was written in Persian

in 1167 by Zahir al-Din Abu-l-Hasan Ali ibn Imam Shams

al-Islam Zayd, the son of Husayn Bayhaqi, also known as

Ibn Funduq (b. in 1097 or 1100). The manuscript was tran-

scribed on Oriental paper in 1647.

A brief summary of the history of four dynasties

of Iranian kings (tabaqa)Peshdadids, Keyanids, Ashkanids

and Sassanidsis reflected in the work Tarikh-i mu-

luk-i Ajam (The History of Iranian Kings). It was com-

piled in Uzbek by Alisher Nawai (14411501) (Inventory

No. 5411/I) and transcribed in 1822. There are two otherfolios (Inventory No. 1859/I, 7412/II).

Tarikh-i jahangusha-yi Nadiri (World Conquest History

of Nadir) by Kaukab, a court historiographer of Nadir-

shah (17311747), is a widely-spread work in the East about

Nadir-shah with a summary of historical events in Iran that

occurred before his accession to the throne (Inventory

No. 7441). It was transcribed in 1797 in Bukhara. There

are other folios (Inventory No. 31, 32, 1227, 6908, 9640).

The History of India accounts for 45 manuscripts(21 works). The earliest of them is Tarikh-i Firuzshahi

(The History of Firuzshah) by Ziya al-Din Barani (1272

1363) written in Persian in 1357 and dedicated to Firuz-shah

(13511388). The work highlights the history of the rulers

of Delhi from 1264 to 1357 including the six-year reign

of Firuz-shah (Inventory No. 1416). The folio was tran-

scribed in the 17thcentury in Nastaliqscripts on Oriental

paper made in India. There is a painted unwan (headpiece)in the beginning of each of the seven parts of the work.

The Institutes collection has a stock of several old cop-

ies of Tabaqat-i Akbarshahi (Akbarshahs Ranks) by

Khoja Nizam al-Din Ahmad Dihlawi who held high mili-

tary positions in India during the reign of a Baburid, Akbar-

shah (15561605). The work is also referred to by the au-

thors name Tarikh-i Nizami (Nizamis Chronicles) writ-

ten in 1594. The manuscript was written in 1717 in Nastaliq

on Oriental paper (Inventory No. 1535, 3341, 3673).

Tarikh-i Haqqi (Haqqis History) by Abd al-Haq ibn

Sayf al-Din ibn Sad Allah Bukhari Turki Dihlawi, one of the

most prominent Indian scientists, theologians and lawyers

(15511642), contains brief information about local dynas-

ties including Delhi from Muhammad ibn Sama (11751206)

to Akbar (11561605), as well as Bengal, Janpur, Mandu,Gujarat, Multan, Sind, and Kashmir.


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2. SUBJECT MATTER

The manuscript was written in the 17thcentury in Nastaliq

on Oriental paper and came to the Institutes collection from

India. It is the only copy (Inventory No. 3924).

The main source for the research of Indo- Iranian re-

lations in the 17thcentury and the military history of the

Baburid Empire is Lataif al-akhbar (Elegant Narration of

Events) by Badi al-Zaman Rashid-khan Tuni, also famous

as Badi al-Zaman Mahabat-khan (b. 1618; d. in 1696 in Agra,or in 1698, the 41st year of Aurangzebs reign). He accompa-

nied Dar Shukuh (16151659), the oldest son of Shah Jahan

(16281658), in his campaign to Kandahar in 1653 and later

served as an official for Awrangzeb (16581707). The work

was written in 1678 in Persian using Indian Nastaliqscript

on Indian paper. It is possibly an autograph (Inventory

No. 5400).

The history of Baburid Shah Jahans reign in verse is con-tained in Zafar nama-yi Shahjahani (The Book of Shah

Jahans Victories) by Abu Talib Kalim Hamadani (d.1651), writ-

ten in Persian. This is a perfectly-designed manuscripttran-

scribed in Indian Nastaliqon Indian paper. It features an un-

wanin gold and paint. It has an artistically-designed bind-

ing. The folio dates to the 17thcentury (Inventory No. 2098).

The fund has one of the rarest copies of Amal-i Salih

by Muhammad Salih Kanbuyi Lahuri (d. 1675). It was writ-

ten in Persian in 1659 and describes the history of Shah

Jahans reign with a short introduction about his ancestors

starting with Amir Temur. The manuscript provides infor-

mation about Indias relationship with neighboring coun-

tries, including Central Asia, and about the life and cus-

toms of the Afghans and other people groups (Inventory

No. 12549). This is a leaf from the 18th

century. It was tran-scribed in Nastaliqscript on Indian paper.

There are four manuscripts on the History of the Middle

East in the collection. Among them is a noteworthy work

in Arabic titled Nihayat al-adab fi marifat qabail al-arab

(Short Range of Art in the Knowledge of the Arabic

Tribes) by Shahab al-Din Abu-l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali al-Ka-

lkashandi (d. 1418) who lived in Egypt. The work was writ-

ten in 1409 and contains a brief reference book on the ge-

nealogy of Arabic tribes (Inventory No. 566/III). The leafwas transcribed in the city of Surat, India in 1697 using fine

Naskhscript with diacritical punctuation on Indian paper.

A work in Arabic with the provisional title Tarikh

(History) by an anonymous author who served for Hasan-

pasha, one of the viziers of Murad III (15741595), is of similar

interest. It was written in 1591 in chronological order about

events that took place in 15801591 in Ottoman Turkey

and dependent regions and cities, especially those in Yemen,during the rule of Murad III and Hasan-pasha. The histori-

cal data is described by days, months and years (Inventory

No. 3026). It was transcribed in Naskhscript on Oriental pa-

per and has a frontispiece (fol. 1b2a) and unwans(fol. 2).

Six manuscripts of five works represent The History

of Turkey in the collection. Noteworthy works include

one written in Turkish and provisionally called Tarikh

(History). It was composed in 1786 by Ahmad Efendi

Vasif (second half of the 18thcentury to the first quarter

of 19thcentury) (Inventory No. 812). It describes the his-

tory of relations between Ottoman Turkey and Russia,

plus other European countries during the second half

of the 18thcentury, specifically Austria, France, Spain

and the Balkans. The manuscript refers to contracts con-

cluded between Turkey, Russia and European countries, in-cluding the Kuchuk Kainarji Peace Treaty in 1774 (fol. 15a)


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2.1. HISTORY

and at the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 17681774

whereby Turkey recognized Russias right to some areas

of the Black Sea and gave up sovereignty over the Crimean

Khanate. The Crimean Khanate was declared independ-

ent and Russia was granted freedom of commercial navi-

gation across the Black Sea and the straits. Additional con-

tracts mentioned in the work include the Ainali-Kavak

Convention (fol. 11b) between Turkey and Russia whichsealed the Kuchuk-Kainarji Peace Treaty, and the Austro-

Turkish Convention (fol. 14a). The author also highlights

the consultation meetings on specific issues that had aris-

en in the course of bilateral or multilateral relations be-

tween Turkey and other countries in the subsequent years.

The leaf was transcribed in Nastaliqon European paper

at the end of the 19thcentury.

The Ins titutes manuscr ipt collec tion holds work son the history of Turkey translated from Arabic to Persian.

Thus, Hakim Ibrahim Efendi (19thcentury), a Turkish mili-

tary doctor in Beirut (Inventory No. 2672/I, fol. 2) wrote

the work Misbah al-sari va nuzhat al-qari (The lame

of the traveller and of the Reader) devoted to Ottoman

sultans and composed in Arabic. This is an account of trav-

els throughout Egypt, Turkey and Europe with historical in-

formation about the two former countries and an annex

on the ancient history of Syria. The work was translated by

Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Yamani known as al-Shirwani

(d. 1841 in Pune), who also authored a number of works

and published a large number of Arabic works for students.

There is a single copy of the leaf transcribed in the second

half of the 19thcentury in Nastaliqon Oriental paper.

There are two manuscripts on The History of Afgha-nistan. One is a work titled Zib-i tarikh-ha (Decoration

of Chronicles) written in Persian by Husain Ali (18 th

century) (Inventory No. 1626), and it is an historical ac-

count of the Afghani Durrani Dynasty from the first cam-

paign of Afghani state founder Ahmad-shah (17471773)

to India in 1748 until the end of the rule of Zaman-shah.

It is written in Nastaliq on Oriental paper. It is an auto-

graph from 1803.

Taj al-tawarikh, yani sivanj umri aliy Hazrat Amir Abdal-Rahman-khan (The Crown of Chronicles or Events in

the Life of His Majesty Amir Abd al-Rahman-khan), the

Ruler of Afghanistan, devoted to the autobiography of Abd

al-Rahman-khan (the son of Afzal-khan (18441901)) is an

Uzbek translation by an unknown translator and original-

ly written in Persian. The leaf was transcribed in 1916 in

Nastaliqon manufactured paper (Inventory No. 7459).

There are four manuscr ipts of three works on TheHistory of Eastern Turkestan. The collection contains one

of the most outstanding monuments of historiography

of the 16thcenturyrare manuscript copies of memoirs

Tarikh-i Rashidi (Rashids History) by Mirza Muhammad

Haydar ibn Muhammad Husayn Guragan Duglat, bet-

ter known as Mirza Haydar (15001551), a maternal cousin

of Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur (14831530). The manu-

script copies were written in Persian and devoted to the

ruler of Kashghar, the Chagatay khan Abd al-Rashid (1533

1570) and named in his honor (Inventory No. 1430 , fol. 3b

4a). The work is a mixed account of history and memoir

and is an important source about the history of Kashghar,

Central Asia, Afghanistan, northern India, and Tibet. It

was transcribed in the 17thcentury in Nastaliqon Indian

or Kashmir paper and found its way to the collection fromeither Afghanistan or northern India.


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2. SUBJECT MATTER

The colle ction also conta ins an 1838 Uygur-Uzb ek

translation of this work by Khoja Muhammad Sharif

at the direction of a Kashghari Amir Zuhur al-Din Taji

Hakimbek (Inventory No. 10191/II). The translator made

his addition to the Rashids History by continuing the

history of the Kashghar rulers from 1546 until the year of

translation, 1838 (fol. 344a416a of a composite volume).

The leaf was transcribed in 1883 using Nastaliqscript onKokand paper.

Four works represent The History of Other Countries in

the collection. One of these is Durar al-akhbar (The Pearls

of News) by Zain al-Din Muhammad Amin Sadri Kashghari

(b. 1753) (Inventory No. 2156) and written in Persian. The au-

thors idea to narrate the history of eastern Turkestan

and its relations with neighboring countries from the be-

ginning of Abu Abdallah-Sultan Sayyid Burhanaddins rule(17561760) until his death in 1760, to whom this work

was devoted, were not realized. The work is incomplete

and ends with a story on the pilgrimage of Muhammad

to Mecca. It was written in Nastaliqscript on Oriental pa-

per. It is an autograph.

Another work by the same author, Athar al-futuh (A

Narrative on Conquest), was written in Persian and also

devoted to Abu Abd Allah-Sultan Sayyid Burhan al-Din.

It is a supplementary version of the abovementioned

Durar al-akhbar. The work is complemented with the his-

tory of Safavids in Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan, eastern

Turkestan and its relations with Semirechye (Mogolistan),

China, and the Altay during the reign of Abu Abd Allah-

Sultan Sayyid Burhan al-Din. The work was written in 1806

(Inventory No. 753, fol. 196a) using Nastaliq,Thuluth,andNaskhscripts on Oriental paper. It is an autograph.

The fund has five work s on the History of European

Countries. One is a work written in Persian On the State

Structure of England by an anonymous author (Inventory

No. 3720/I). It was transcribed in Nastaliqon Oriental pa-

per in 1831. Tarikh-i Rum (The History of Rome) is a com-

pilation in Persian on the history of Rome for 2,000 years

from its foundation in the 8th century B. C. to the fall

of the Byzantium Empire in the middle of the 13th

cen-tury. This work was written in 1844 (Inventory No. 9605)

in Nastaliqon European paper. It is an autograph.

The historical proceedings in Persian by Bahman Mirza

ibn Abbas Mirza Qajar, who emigrated from Persia to

Transcaucasia in the second half of the 19thcentury be-

cause of court intriguery, are peculiar due to their uncon-

ventional style. Shukurnama-yi shahanshahi (The Book

of Gratitude to the Imperial Government) is an auto-graph of Bahman Mirza and an excursion into the history

of Azerbaijan and other near-Caucasus regions with an id-

iosyncratic interpretation of events and information about

beliefs of the Iranian elite on western Europe and Russia.

This is a source on the history of relations between Russia

and Iran in the 19thcentury. The book was written in 1871

in the Shush fortress in Nastaliqon Russian writing paper,


Only one written piece represents The History of Japan

in the collection of manuscripts. Mikado-nama (The

Book about Mikado [a Japanese emperor]) describes the

Russian-Japanese War of 19051907 with a digression into

the history of Russia, Japan, China and their re lationships.

The work was written by Mirza Husayn Ali Shirazi tajir- i,

a merchant from Shiraz, (second half of the 19th

centuryto the first quarter of the 20thcentury) and by the translator


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26

2. SUBJECT MATTER

Majmua-yi wathaiq (A Collection of Documents)

is a roster of court rulings in Persian, containing authe-

ntic documents of cases tried in the court of the city of

Samarqand by a supreme judge from Aug. 13, 1589 to Feb.

14, 1592 (Inventory No. 1386). The text is written in Nastaliq

script on Central Asian paper.

Munshaat (Business Correspondence) contains co-

pies of various letters of patent (nishan). It is written inPersian using Nastaliqscript on Russian ruled paper in the

19thcentury (Inventory No. 5046/III).

The Institutes collection includes a little-known work by

Khandamir (13751435) titled Nama-yi nami (The Illustrious

Book) and attributed to the epistolary genre of literature.

It contains valuable facts about the political and economic

lives of Mawaraannahr and Khurasan in the early 16thcen-

tury. The work was written in Persian using Nastaliqscript

on Oriental paper in the 16thcentury (Inventory No. 286/III).

The collection is rich in labels, letter-books, samples ofdecrees, rescripts and other documents which contain in-

teresting historical information.

INV. # 1598, IKHTIYARATI BADI I. PAGE 160B!


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S.Karimova

>9>9 -&!(%&. &-4 #=&0! '0,#-0#'

More than 12 percent of manuscripts in the Main Collection (13,319 pieces) are com-

posed of folios of written works on exact and natural sciences covering subjects ar-

eas such as mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geography, medicine, alchemy, min-

eralogy, veterinary medicine and hunting, as well as folios of encyclopedias relating

to natural sciences.

These works chronologically date from the 9thto the 20thcenturies while their fo-

lios date from the 13thto the 20thcenturies. Earlier works (prior to the 14thto the 15th

centuries) are written in Arabic. Many of them are written in Persian, and someare written in Turkic languages. The latter mainly include later Turkic editions of fa-

mous treatises in Arabic and Persian.

Medieval works on natural sciences, which mainly focused on practical concerns

such as mathematical calculations and measurements, for example, were necessary

for the construction of buildings and bridges, for land surveys, financial and tax cal-

culations, and inheritance determinations. Astronomic knowledge was necessary

for compiling calendars, determining high-water seasons, ascertaining geographic

coordinates of residential areas, finding the Qibla (direction of prayers), and itinerar-ies of caravan routes through steppes and deserts as well as for casting various hor-

oscopes and other astrological forecasts.

The works on medicine and pharmacology show capacities, diagnosis and treat-

ment method as well as the medicinal arsenal of medieval medicine. Treatises

on mineralogy, alchemy, veterinary medicine and others reflect the developmental

level of these disciplines of that time.

In the following sections, arranged by theme, the characteristic of each group

of manuscript is discussed.

Medicinemost (more than half) of all manuscripts on natural sciences are fo-

lios of medical content because of the constant demand for this area at all times.

Currently, the Main Collection of the institute has 753 folios dating from the 13th

to the 20thcenturies with 351 works and 39 excerpts and abstracts of medical con-

tent in the Arabic, Persian and Turkic languages. Thematically, they refer to gener-

al medicine (148 pieces), the theory of medicine (33 pieces), medical handbooks

(160 pieces), special issues (128 pieces), simple drugs (91 pieces), pharmacopeia(161 pieces), and glossaries (32 pieces). This group of folios is dominated by works

"INV. #816, DURRAT ATTAJ LIGURRAT ALDIBAJ. PAGE 143B

2 SUBJECT MATTER


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30

2. SUBJECT MATTER

containing practical information, partly because of their

greater relevance.

The works on General Medicinecontaining theoreti-

cal information (anatomy, physiology, diagnostics, health

care issues, and dietology), practical information (treat-

ment of organs from head to feet and the entire body),

and pharmacology information represented in Materia

Medica and pharmacopeia, provide a more or less full un-derstanding of medieval Oriental medicine. The collection

has the finest specimens of similar works from the earlier

periods of Muslim medicine, the golden age of science,

during the era of the Temurids and in the post-Temurid

period. For example, a manuscript from the 19 th centu-

ry contains a work on natural sciences by one of the ear-

liest Arabic-speaking authors, a famous Nestorian doc-

tor and translator Husain ibn Ishaka al-Ibadi (808877).The work is titled Masail Hunayn ibn Ishaq ala tariq al-

taqsim va-t-tashkhis ([Medical] Issues of Hunayn ibn

Ishaq [Researched] Through Division and Identification [of

Diseases]) (Inventory No. 2746/III).

Several literary specimens represent medicine dur-

ing the era of Muslim cultural ascent in the 9thto the 11th

centuries, including Kitab Kamil al-sinaat al-tibbiyya

(Comprehensive Book on the Art of Medicine) (Inventory

No. 9622) by the famous Iranian doctor Ali ibn Abbas

al-Majusi (d. 994); and Kutub al-mia fi sinaat al-tib-

biyya (One Hundred Books on Medical Art) (Inventory

No. 12970) by Abu Sahl al-Masihi (d. 1010), a contemporary

and one of the teachers of Abu Ali ibn Sina in the area

of medicine. The collection has one manuscript copy

of each of the two abovementioned works dating

to the 13thcentury.

Three works by a great Central Asian scientist and ency-

clopaedist Abu Ali ibn Sina (9801037) adorn the collection

of medical books. They include a poetic manual on med-

icine in one manuscript from the 19thcentury and com-

posed in a rajaz rhythm in Arabic and Persian titled Urjuza

fi-t-tibb (Urjuza [A Poem] on Medicine) (Inventory

No. 3008/VI); an 18th-century manuscript titled al-Masail

al-maduda (Selected Issues), which includes 15 ques-tions on medicine with answers from Ibn Sina (Inventory

No. 9770/I); and a famous encyclopedia in Arabic titled

al-Qanun fi-t-tibb (The Canon of Medicine) represented

in seven manuscripts, including two which are complete

a leaf made in 1309 (Inventory No. 11195) and a three-vol-

ume manuscript with artistic illumination supposedly from

the 17thcentury (Inventory No. 9785/I, II, III).

After the Canon of Medicine came into beingin the 11thcentury, it quickly spread throughout the Muslim

Orient beginning in the 12 th century along with writ-

ten commentaries and abridged versions. The collec-

tion of the Institute has commentaries in Arabic and edi-

tions of the Canon of Medicine from different time peri-

ods. The earliest is a list from the 13 thcentury of an anon-

ymous work Sharh mushkilat al-Qanun (A Commentary

on Difficult Sections in the Canon), which is a commen-

tary of the first two sections in the first book of Canon

of Medicine (Inventory No. 3235). Al-Tuhfat al-Sadiya fi-

t-tibb (Sads Gift to Medicine) by Qutb al-Din Mahmud

al-Shirazi (d. 1311), a disciple of renowned theologian,

philosopher, and astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, is con-

sidered one of the most complete commentaries on

Canon of Medicine. This work is available in two full fo-

lios dating supposedly to the 14th century (Inventory

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2.2. NATURAL AND EXACT SCIENCES

No. 2167) and the 17thcentury (Inventory No. 9748), as well

as in a small excerpt from the 17th century (Inventory

No. 10412/IV).

Abridged editions of the Canon of Medicine were

composed by reputed doctors of their time such as Ala

al-Din Ali al-Qarshi with an alias of ibn al-Nafis (d. 1288)

and Mahmud al-Chaghmini (d. 1344). Mujaz al-Kanun

(Abridged Canon) by Ibn al-Nafis is represented in thecollection by four full folios from the beginning of the 17 th

to the 19thcenturies (Inventory No. 47150; 10544; 5783/I;

2409/III) and two incomplete manuscripts (Inventory

No. 11778; 10058).

Short abstracts of main provisions of the Canon

of Medicine are contained in Al-Qanuncha (Small

Canon) by al-Jagmini, which apparently was very popular

judging by the abundance of folios in Arabic and one inold Uzbek (Inventory No. 11083). The earliest of the avail-

able 11 manuscripts in Arabic was transcribed in 1572


Besides commentaries and abridged edit ions

of the Canon of Medicine, there are supracommentaries

in Arabic composed in the 14thto 16thcenturies (Inventory

No. 10249; 2492; 10413, and etc.).

A similarly famous work by Ismail al-Jurjani (d. 1136) ti-

tled Dhakhira-yi Khorazmshahi (The Treasure of Khorezm

Shah) and its abridged editions are represented by a multi-

tude of folios. This work is one of the most complete medi-

cal encyclopedias in Persian created after Ibn Sinas Canon

of Medicine. It was compiled for Khorezm-shah Arslantegin

Qutb al-Din Muhammad (10971128). Out of the 13 foli-

os dating to the 16thto 19thcenturies, four are complete,

including three manuscripts dating to the 17thcentury

(Inventory No. 9747; 2111; 3485) and one dating to the first

half of the 18thcentury (Inventory No. 2124/II). Ismail al-

Juzjani personally compiled abridged Persian editions

of The Treasure of Khorezm Shah upon the request

of royal persons and friends. The collection has three

manuscripts of earlier editions dating to the 19thcentury

(Inventory No. 2116/VIII; 3334/XII; 11344/IV).

Medicine in the Temurid period (15th

to 16th

centuries)is represented by manuscripts of the works of Mansur

ibn Muhammad ibn Fakikh Ilyas (15thcentury) (Inventory

No. 5536; 9974/IV; 11665/VIII; 11846/V), Nafis ibn Ivaz al-

Kirmani, a court doctor of the ruler of Mawaraannahr

and grandson of Amir Timur, Mirzo Ulugbek (14091449)

(Inventory No. 2872; 10706; 7636; 4910), and Nurbakhsha ar-

Razi (d. 1507) (Inventory No. 3664; 2846; 11153/XI; 2612/IX).

The work of Salikh ibn Nasrallakh ibn Salluma (d. 1670),Al-Kitab fi-t-tibb al-jadid al-kimiya allazi ikhtira Barakilsus

(The Book of New Chemical Treatment Invented by Para-

celsus), is a rare specimen of an Oriental edition of a

medical tractate by a European author in the late Middle

Ages. This Arabic adaptation of the tractate written by

Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus (14931541),

a famous Swiss doctor and founder of iatrochemistry

(medical chemistry), is stored in three manuscripts dat-

ing to the 19thcentury (Inventory No. 6592; 3508; 2631/III).

During the rule of Babur and the Baburids (1526

1858) in India, a number of works on medicine were

composed along with historical, literary and scientific

works. These include two works by famous Indian doctor

Muhammad Akbar under the pen name of Arzani (d. af-

ter 1718), Tibb-i Akbari (Medicine of Akbar) and Mizan-i

tibb (Balance of Medicine). The first work was devoted

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2. SUBJECT MATTER

to a Dehli ruler Muhyiaddin Aurangzeb Alamgir I (1658

1707), and is a Persian edition of the abovementioned com-

mentary in Arabic, Sharh al-asbab va-l-alamat by Nafis

ibn Ivaz al-Kirmani. Muhammad Akbar not only translated

this work by al-Kirmani into Persian, but also supplement-

ed it, thus essentially creating a stand-alone work. The col-

lection has nine folios of this work including some which

are artistically illustrated and fine specimens of calligraphicart and binding (Inventory No. 2116/V; 3504/X; 2629/I; 2924).

The second work, Balance of Medicine, is represented

in six folios, the earliest of them dating to the 18 thcentury,

presumably (Inventory No. 2829/IV).

There are rare manuscripts of works by several Central

Asian and Khurasanian authors dating to the 17thto the 20th

centuries, including an autograph Qanun al-mabsut

(Expanded Canon) (Inventory No. 8921; 8922) in Uzbekby a doctor and poet from the 20 thcentury, Basitkhan

ibn Zahidkhan Shashi (18781959). This is a rare example

of a work on medicine written in a traditional Oriental form

in the modern period. There is also an abridged version

of the Expanded Canon executed by the authors brother,

Hamidkhan ibn Zahidkhan Shashi (Inventory No. 12535/I).

Medical Booksthis group includes works on prac-

tical medicine, i. e., private and general pathology. These

manuscripts can be provisionally divided into two groups:

original works by famous authors and compilations exe-

cuted, apparently, for individual use in day-to-day med-

ical practice. The latter includes medical books as lec-

ture notes in the Persian and Uzbek languages compiled

in the 19thcentury.

According to the time of writing, a treatise titled Bur

al-saa (Cure within a Short Time) by a distinguished

scientist-encyclopeadist better known as doctor and alche-

mist Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865925),

which describes diseases that do not require long treat-

ment, appears to be the earliest medical book. It has en-

joyed great popularity as evidenced by the vast number

of its folios and translations. The collection holds 18 foli-

os dating to the 19thcentury, 10 of which are Persian edi-

tions that include both full translations and excerpts fromvarious sections. Two manuscripts of the Arabic origi-

nal are noted for their high-quality execution (Inventory

No. 3390/I; 2988/I).

A work in Arabic titled Kitab al-ghina va-l-muna (Suf-

ficient and Desired Book) by Bukharan doctor Hasan ibn

Nuh al-Qumri (al-Qamari) al-Bukhari (d. 999) is also referred

to as Kunnash (Symposium) and Shamsiya al-Mansu-

riyya (Solar [Book of] Mansur). Al-Qumri was known bothas a theorist doctor and a practicing doctor. He was men-

tor of Ibn Sina in the area of medicine and was held in es-

teem by the ruler of Bukhara, Mansur ibn Nuh (961976),

to whom the scientist apparently dedicated this work.

The medical book has survived in a manuscript dated

to the 15thcentury (Inventory No. 5708).

Medical books in the earliest manuscripts of the 13 th

century include two works: Taqwim al-abdan fi tadbir al-

insan (Tables of the Body With Regard to the Physical

Management of Man) by Baghdadian doctor Yah ya ibn

Isa ibn Jazli (d. 1100) and dedicated to Abbassid caliph

al-Muqtadi bi-Amr Allah (10751094), and anonymous ex-

cerpts on practical metters from a large work on medi-

cine (Inventory No. 578). The work by Ibn Jazla is note-

worthy because the material is represented in the form

of 44 tables (Inventory No. 437).

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Many medieval doctors were talented poets and suc-

cessfully used their skill for their scientific works. The most

popular poetic treatises were about simple drugs

and medical books where one poem describes both

a disease and the means to combat it. Most similar works

of the post-Mongolian period were written in Persian.

One example is the work Shifa-yi-maraz (Treatment

of a Disease) also known as Tibb-i Shihabi (Medicineof Shikhab) by Shikhabaddin ibn Abdalkarim Qavam

Naguri (14thcentury). There are four copies, with the earli-

est of them created in 1685 in India (Inventory No. 10426/II).

Medical works by Yusuf Muhammad Yusufi al-Hirawi,

a court doctor of Zahiraddin Babur (15261530) and his son,

Humayun (15301556), enjoyed great popularity. These in-

clude his Ilaj al-amraz (Treatment of Diseases) writ-

ten in the form of quatrains or rubai (Inventory No. 4544/IV) and a commentary, Jami al-fawaid (A Collection

of Useful Information), which brought fame to Yusufi.

The earliest of 29 folios from the 17thto 19thcenturies dates

to the beginning of the 17thcentury (Inventory No. 4187/V);

22 copies date to the 19thcentury.

Multiple folios include medical books composed

in the 15thto 16thcenturies in Maverannahr and Khurasan.

These are Dastur al-ilaj (A Manual on Medical Practice)

and Muqaddima-yi dastur al-ilaj (Introduction into

Medical Practice) by Sultan Ali, a Khorasani doctor

who practiced medicine for many years in the courts

of the Sheybani rulers. Calligraphically executed cop-

ies from 1589 of both works are bound into one volume

(Inventory No. 2264/I, II)

Abu Bakr al-Razi may be considered a founder of the

technique to preserve clinical records, which is presently

used in every medical office. Similar patient histories were

also kept by his disciples who worked together in the hos-

pitals of Ray and Bagdad. One group of medical books in-

cludes an autograph by Turkish doctor, poet, and calligra-

pher Katib-zade Muhammad Rafii (18thcentury), who trans-

lated Patient Histories by Abu-l-Hasan Allan (9thto 10th

centuries), a disciple of Abu Bakr ar-Razi, from Arabic into

Turkish. In this work, Katib-zade has proven to be not onlya translator, but also a skilled calligrapher and a master of

bookmanship (Inventory No. 3023).

Rare medical books include one in Uzbek by Jafar

ibn Khazaraspi (19thcentury) titled Multaqat al-tibb (A

Collection of Medical Information) dedicated to Khorez-

mian shah Sayyid Ahmad al-Husayni. The work was comp-

leted in 18231824 and is available in two folios, one of

which was executed in 18271828 possibly during the life-time of the author (Inventory No. 3336).

The collection of medical works includes treatises on

specific medical issues, including anatomy, diagnostics,

health care, dietology, diseases of various organs, infec-

tious diseases, and others. For example, among the works

on the history of medicine feature is a piece by the famous

Khorasan doctor, poet, and lawyer, Fakhraddin Abu Abd

Allah Muhammad ibn Umar al-Razi (d. 1209) titled Masail

fi-t-tibb (Issues of Medicine): it is contained in single

folios supposedly dating to the 16thcentury (Inventory

No. 3135).

Although treatises of a theoretical nature are few in

number in the collection (33 pieces), there are still some

works in Persian that are of scientific interest. These

are Risala dar tashrih-i badan-i insan (A Treatise on

the Anatomy of Human Body) also known as Tashrih-i

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2. SUBJECT MATTER

Mansur (Anatomy by Mansur) by the previously men-

tioned Mansur ibn Faqih Ilyas. The work was dedicated

to the grandson of Amir Timur, Pir Muhammad Bahadur

(killed in 1405). A folio dating to 1683 was made at the di-

rection of Ashtrakhanid Subhankulikhan (16801702) with

corrections in the text and illustrations depicting a human

skeleton, nervous system, internal organs, and other com-

ponents (Inventory No. 2105). In addition, there are threemore folios (Inventory No. 3663/V; 11763/III; 3483/I).

Works by two of Baburid court doctors are interesting

for comparative analysisa Heratian doctor, Yusuf ibn

Muhammad Yusufi, and Mukhammad Akbar. The treatise

by Yusufi, Sitta-yi zaruriyya (Six Necessary Conditions

[for Health]), is represented in six folios including an illu-

minated manuscript dating to 1798, which was executed in

Kashmir (Inventory No. 9974/I) and included in one volumewith other works by Yusufi. The work by Muhammad Akbar,

Mufarrih al-qulub (Delight to the Hearts), is a volumi-

nous commentary in Persian on the earlier mentioned Al-

Qanuncha in Arabic by Mahmud al-Chaghmini (Inventory

No. 3532). There are eight full folios of the work with

the earliest of them dating to 1725 (Inventory No. 11990).

Analytical diagnostics guidelines include a treatise

about using urine test results and interpretation of pulsereading for diagnosis. Traditional Muslim medicine con-

sidered the latter method as one of the most reliable

means of ascertaining a disease. Therefore, both encyclo-

pedic works and medical books dedicated a special sec-

tion to pulse readings, and some doctors who were profi-

cient in using this method, wrote special treatises on the is-

sue. These include two folios dating to the 19 thcentury ti-

tled Miftah al-hikma (The key of Wisdom) by Darvish

Muhammad Hakim Kilasabadi who was a disciple of a re-

nowned Indian Sufi sheikh Faridaddin Shakarganja (d. 1265).

The treatise was written in Persian in verse with the intro-

duction and conclusion in prose (Inventory No. 2992/II;

1858/III).

Other manuscripts regarding medical treatments, in-

clude a treatise in Persian by the abovementioned Yusuf

ibn Muhammad titled Dalail al-nabz (Pulse Readings),in six manuscripts, with the earliest of them dating to 1798

(Inventory No. 9974/II); and Risala dar tahqiq-i nabz va

tafsira (A Treatise on [a Patients] Pulse and Urine) by

Muhammad Yusuf, an ophthalmologist and personal doc-

tor of the Shaybani rulers of Samarqand. This work was ded-

icated to Sultan Said-khan (15671572). The treatise sup-

posedly dating to the 17thcentury is a rare work available

only from the al-Biruni Institute (Inventory No. 2275/VI).Two early works in Arabic may be categorized as rare

Kitab al-humayat (A Book on Fevers) by by Ishaq ibn

Sulayman al-Israili (b. 932) in the 1215 manuscript (Inventory

No. 2399); and Sharh fusul al-Buqrat (A Commentary on

Aphorisms of Hippocrates) by Abd al-Rahman al-Nishabu-

ri (d. after 1068) in the 1292 manuscript (Inventory No. 3139).

Ophthalmology is represented by works of famous oph-

thalmologists Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal (d. after 1010) (InventoryNo. 9723/I), and Shah Ali ibn Sulayman Kahhal (16thcentu-

ry) (Inventory No. 4935/II; 1832).

There are several rare manuscripts on infec tious dis-

eases, including the plague in an autograph from the 16th

century (Inventory No. 3187/X) and in the manuscript

from the 19thcentury (Inventory No. 4157/I); and chol-

era, in one manuscript from 1873 (Inventory No. 2774/II).

Many medieval authors focused on issues of health care



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35

and hygiene as evidenced by a multitude of folios of trea-

tise from different time periods on this issue.

Works on pharmacologyconcerning simple and com-

plex drugs were just as popular as medical books. These

are found as independent elements of medical encyclo-

pedias, as in the Canon of Medicine by Ibn Sina (Books

II and V) or as stand-alone works on simple drugs (Materia

Medica) and pharmacopeias.Works on simple drugs (adwiyat al-mufrada)inclu-

de a description, properties and uses of simple drugs that

have mineral, plant and animal origin. Usually the infor-

mation is arranged in abjadorder of the Arabic alpha-

bet letters. The collection holds works by the abovemen-

tioned authors, Ibn Jazla (Inventory No. 3761), Najibaddin

Samarqandi (Inventory No. 7225/V), and Yusufi (19 copies).

The collection includes two work s by the famousArabian botanist Ziya al-Din ibn Abd Allah al-Maliki

(d. 1248), also known as Ibn al-Baytar (son of the veteri-

narian). His first work, Kitab al-mughna fi-l-adwiyat al-mu-

frada (A Sufficient Book on Simple Drugs), was written

in 1240 and represented in the manuscript of 1243 copied

from the original (Inventory No. 3237). The second work,

al-Jami fi-l-mufradat al-adwiya va-l-aghziya (A Collection

on Medicinal and Nutritive Substances), is an incom-plete manuscript dating to the 17 thcentury (Inventory

No. 3099). There are unique folios dating to the 18thcen-

tury of a rare treatise according to its content on incense,

Risala-yi atrnama-yi Adil shahi by Yusuf Haji al-Qarshi

(16thcentury) (Inventory No. 3494/II) dedicated to Adil-

shah. Along with comprehensive traditional alphabeti-

cal listings of medicines, there is a work called Khawass-i

haywan (On the Properties of Animals) and special

treatises on one type of medicine. Other works include

Chub-i Chini (A Chinese Stick) (Inventory No. 9269/II,

2873/II); Ab-i naysan (The Water of Nisan) in four copies;

and Khasiyat-i sana-yi makki (Properties of Alexandrine

Senna) (Inventory No. 3313/XVII). The two last works are

found only in the collection of the al-Biruni Institute.

In medieval Muslim medicine, works dedicated to mak-

ing complex drugswere referred to as Aqrabadin orQarabadin(from Ancient Greek grafidiona list of medi-

cations). The content of these works usually correspond-

ed with that of pharmacopeias. They usually consist

of two partsthe first one describing types and methods

of making from simple ones, while the second one spec-

ifies types of diseases from head to toe for which a cer-

tain composite drug is indicated.

The earliest treatises by Central Asian authors in theArabic language may include al-Adwiyat al-qalbi-

ya (Heart Medicines) by Ibn Sina in a manuscript dat-

ing to the 18thcentury (Inventory No. 2275/V), and Risala

fi-s-sikanjubin (A Treatise on Sikanjubin [acidulous syr-

up made of honey and vinegar referred to as Oxymel])

(Inventory No. 2572/XXI) by the same author. Other early

works include Qarabadin al-Qalanisi (Pharmacopoeia of

Kalanisi) by Badr al-Din ibn Muhammad al-Kalanisi (d. 1194)(Inventory No. 3925), and Usul al-tarakib (Foundations

of Making [Compound drugs]) by the aforementioned

Najib al-Din Samarqandi (Inventory No. 2275/III 7225/III).

A work titled Ikhtiyarat-i Badii (Selected [Pharma-

copoeia] Dedicated to Badi) by Ali ibn al-Husayn al-An-

sari (also known by his alias Khoja Zayn al-Attar (1330

1404) in the Persian language) was quite popular. The au-

thor was in service at the court of the ruler of Shiraz,

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Jalaliddin Shah-Shuja (13641384) and dedicated his treatise

to Princess Badi al-Jamal. There are 20 copies, with the ear-

liest of them having been presented in 1541 especially

for Shaybanid Abd al-Latif-khan. It features 594 pictures

executed in paint depicting plants, animals, and vessels

for preparing and storing medicines (Inventory No. 1598).

There is a noteworthy work titled Bahr al-khavass (A

Sea of Specific Properties) by a Kermani doctor NimatAllah ibn Mughis al-Din (d. 1477), where the author pro-

vides as many synonyms as possible of simple drugs

in five languages. There are three folios on file; the earli-

est of them dates to the 17thcentury (Inventory No. 2146).

There is sufficient material available for those interest-

ed in Indian pharmacopeias dating to the 17thto the 18th

centuries. These include two pharmacopeias by Takiaddin

Muhammad (17th

century) (Inventory No. 8307; 2248; 7225/VII); a rare list titled Umm al-ilaj (Basics of Treatment) by

Amanallah, a court doctor for Nur al-Din Muhammad (1605

1628) from the Baburid Dynasty (Inventory No. 1355/I); pop-

ular pharmacopeias by the abovementioned Muhammad

Akbar, including Qarabadin-i Qadiri (Pharmacopeia

of Qadir), dedicated to the authors mentor, Sayyid Abd

al-Qadir Gilani (in 12 copies, the earliest dating to 1783,

Inventory No. 3497); Mujarrabat-i Akbari (Tried and TrueMeans of Akbar) in two copies from the 19 th century

(Inventory No. 7362; 715/I); and a rare copy titled Majmua-

yi Baqai (A Collection of Baqai) by Muhammad Ismail

Baqai (18thcentury) (Inventory No. 432).

There are two manuscripts of two works wri tten by

royal personsManafi al-insan ([Substances] Use-

ful for Humans) in Uzbek by Khiva khan Abu-l-Ghazi-

khan (16431663) (Inventory No. 4107), and Ihya al-tibb

Subhani (Subkhan [-kuli]s Revival of Medicine) by a rul-

er of Mawaraannahr Sayyid Subkhankuli Bahadur-khan

from the Ashtarkhanid Dynasty (16801702) (Inventory

No. 2101). There is one more autograph of the aforemen-

tioned Basit-khan Shahi represented in the pharmacopeia

titled Fawaid al-adwiya va mawaid al-aghziya (Benefits

of Drugs and Supporting [a Body] with Food) (Inventory

No. 11256).The collection of books on medicine includes a small

number of dictionaries(32 pieces) of medical terms in

two (Arabic-Persian), three (Arabic-Persian-Indian) and

more languages. Most of them are dedicated to names of

drugs, while others are dedicated to the names of diseases.

There are also combinations. Based on period of transcrip-

tion of these dictionaries cover from the 16thto the mid-

dle of the 20th

centuries, and are penned by Central Asian,Khorasani, and Indian doctors. The most famous of them

include an Arabic-Persian dictionary titled Bahr al-jawahir

(The Sea of Pearls) by Muhammad ibn Yusuf (16thcentu-

ry) dating to 1589 (Inventory No. 7192). In several copies

dating to the 18thto the 19thcenturies there are two poet-

ic dictionaries with explanations of Indian names of medi-

cines in Persian by Yusufi. Hall al-asami (Analysis of Titles)

by Ismail ibn Muhammad (16thcentury) is a Persian trans-lation of Kitab al-tanvir fi-l-istilahat al-tibbiyya (A Book

of Insights into Medical Terms), a famous explanatory lex-

icon of medical terms in the Arabic by the abovemen-

tioned Abu Mansur al-Qumri. Qumris dictionary contains

800 terms. The Persian translation has an additional chap-

ter On Explaining Names of Compound Drugs in Greek.

The al-Biruni Institute has three folios of this translation

(Inventory No. 11776/I; 6171/I; 11153/VI).



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Two autographs in Uzbek by brothers Basit-khan

and Hamid-khan Shashi may be classified as unique

(Inventory Nos. 8923; 12544/II).

Mathematicsa collection of mathematics manu-

scripts includes 213 copies. Of those, 186 include folios

of arithmetic and algebraic treatises (91 works). The re-

maining 27 are works on geometry (19 essays). The ear-

liest of the mathematical treatises is Risala fi-l-arithmati-qi (Treatise on Arithmetics) in Arabic by famous math-

ematician and astronomer Abu-l-Vafa Muhammad al-Buz-

jani (940 998) represented in rare folios dating to 1881

(Inventory No. 4750/IX).

Works by lawyer and mathematician Sirajaddin

Abu TakhirMuhammad as-Sijavandi (12thcentury) were

quite popular in Central Asia. Among the multiple fo-

lios in the Institutes collection, three of his works on al-gebra and arithmetic are included with al-Faraiz al-Sira-

jiy ya (Inher itance Law by Sirajiddin ) being the most

widely spread practical treatise on Muslim inheritance law.

The earliest of the eight available folios dates to 14751476

(Inventory No. 8693/II).

Scientific schools, including the Maragin School head-

ed by Nasiraddin at-Tusi (12011274) and the Mirzo Ulubek

Samarqand Astronomy School, have left their markin the science